Huang and Xiao explore Christianity in St. Louis

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]xcitement fills Junior Aaron Huang and Senior Shannon Xiao as they step off the plane and into the cold, crisp air of St. Louis, Missouri for a five day mission conference.From Dec. 27-31, Huang and Xiao visited workshops, attended sermons and saw exhibits as a part of the InterVarsity Fellowship conference. The purpose of the conference, which is held every three years, is to broaden the horizons of young Christian adults and expose them to many different aspects of the faith.“There were seminars on different topics such as prayer, missions in business, Atheism, world religions and much more,” Huang said. “I personally went to the Atheism seminar, and it was cool how the speaker told us to be patient with non-believers and to treat them as if they were your brother and to simply just love.”In addition to the familiar and conventional topics of faith, many of the programs at the conference tied culture into the event. Whether it was a sermon on the Gospel of Luke preached by a Kenyan missionary, or an event where members came together to send care packages to Swaziland, the worldly aspects of the trip made a strong impact on Huang and Xiao.“It was really perspective changing, and it changed the way that I see people and the way I see different cultures and Christianity,” Xiao said. “I think it’s a great way to broaden your world view.”Despite attending different events throughout the day, the two still had plenty of time to explore the surrounding area of downtown St. Louis and see their first snowfall.“It was nice to get out of the Asian 626 bubble and be surrounded by different sorts of ethnicity and culture. It was my first time seeing snow fall, so that was one of my most memorable experiences,” Huang said. “It was awesome that we had 16,000 attendees at the conference; we literally took over the whole city with all its restaurants and hotels and convenience stores.”Although Huang and Xiao spent most of their time at the conference, experiencing the city and meeting new people was a must. In addition to learning more about Christianity and experiencing a new surrounding, the two have unforgettable memories about the trip.Huang considers the trip to be very moving for him. At the conference, he gained a greater appreciation for his own world.“The experience overall was really eye opening and amazing. The main thing I got out of it was that I’m so comfortable in my own bubble while almost everyone else in the world is suffering with war, poverty and just a lack of hope and love. It really encouraged me to stop being so selfish and always focusing on myself or the things I’m doing,” Huang said. “We take love and security for granted while people grow up not knowing what either of those things is.”